Man proposes to girlfriend through Pandora audio advertisement

By Mike Flacy Published May 16, 2012

Hundai Veloster Pandora — Image used with permission by copyright holder

As explained in great detail on his personal Tumblr blog, a recent University of North Texas graduate named Kyle Taylor proposed to his girlfriend Maggie by convincing the support staff at Pandora to create a special advertisement for her. Prior to coming up with this plan to use Pandora, Kyle mulled over ideas such as using Portal or a series of Internet memes to pop the question. After this girlfriend purchased a new Hyundai Veloster, Kyle devised a plan where he would use the Pandora application in the automobile to help him with the next step in their relationship.

After reaching out to the support staff at Pandora, Kyle was put in touch with the technical and creative teams in order to pull off this feat. Kyle worked with the advertising team to create and record a personal message with a professional voice actress, but the ad trafficking had to figure out how to deliver the ad to Kyle’s Pandora account and avoid playing the advertisement for other Pandora users.

Recommended Videos

According to an interview with TechCrunch, Pandora CTO Tom Conrad indicated that Kyle tweaked his demographic data to a much older age and used a rural zip code to avoid a populated area. The ad trafficking team specifically targeted the ad to that demographic data, thus likely preventing anyone other than Kyle to hear the advertisement.

Kyle decided on his graduation date to “pop the question” through the Pandora advertisement. While Maggie was watching Kyle in the graduation ceremony, a friend altered the login details on the Pandora app in the Hyundai Veloster. After the ceremony, the couple left to celebrate at a restaurant and Kyle selected a custom music station to cue the advertisement. After the advertisement played (click here to listen), Kyle said “I know this isn’t the most traditional proposal, but Maggie, will you marry me?” Of course, she said “Yes!” and the couple went to go deliver the good news to their families.

Topics

Contributing Editor

By day, I'm the content and social media manager for High-Def Digest, Steve's Digicams and The CheckOut on Ben's Bargains…

Cars

Volkswagen is pursuing the elusive entry-level EV with its ID. EVERY1 concept car

Volkswagen ID. EVERY1 concept car

Volkswagen is hoping to bring electric vehicles to the masses with its super affordable new EV concept. The ID. EVERY1 car will launch in Europe for just €20,000 (around $21,500) and could become the go-to entry-level vehicle for customers interested in EVs.

The small four-door hatchback was revealed as a concept car, with the production model set for a launch in 2027. The EVERY1 will join another affordable model, the ID 2all, which will be launched next year for €25,000 ($27,000), and Volkswagen promises there will be up to nine new models revealed by 2027.

Cars

I sat in the Xiaomi SU7, here are 5 features that every car needs

Xiaomi SU7 Max SUV first look

I’ve spent almost two decades reviewing most facets of consumer technology, but I’ve never been a huge car guy. For many years, it represented a way to get from A to B, but electric cars have changed this.

The best electric cars solve many of my biggest complaints with a car, and some of the best cars are being made by brands I would never have expected. I’ve sat in Sony’s upcoming car, the AFEELA, and I love the immersive entertainment experience, but one of my primary concerns is the lack of a killer use case for many of these features.

Audio / Video

Soon you’ll be able to enjoy Dolby Atmos Music in Cadillac EVs

A red Cadillac EV on a dark background with the Dolby and Cadillac emblems underneath.

Dolby Atmos is a pretty remarkable experience when heard within a properly tuned car cabin setup, as implemented by Rivian R1S and the Cadillac Optiq, in particular. Now, Dolby and Cadillac have announced that Atmos will be support across the entire line of Cadillac EVs -- which includes the Escalade IQL, Escalade IQ, Lyriq-V, Optiq (as we heard at CES), and Vistiq. Support will also extend into select 2025 models with an over-the-air update, although which are not a part of this announcement.

As we now seem to be spending more and more time in our cars (according to the Federal Highway Administration, Americans drive a staggering 3 trillion miles a year), having the best possible sound in our cars is even more desirable than in the past. As John Couling, Senior Vice President of Entertainment at Dolby Laboratories says, "Whether you are listening to music to pass the time on a long commute or sharing a special moment on a family road trip, music has the power to transform mundane moments into something remarkable." Chief Engineer at Cadillac, John Cockburn adds, "Together, [Cadillac and Dolby] are taking audio to new heights by ensuring the music experience stays true to the artist's original vision, delivering a sound experience that makes consumers feel like they are in the music studio with them."